Betwixt the Oak and Holly
by JessieJay13
Summary: Upon a grassy knoll the two did stand When nigh the Summer Solstice was at hand. The reigning king stood tall before his foe As winds of fate around them both did blow.


**A/N: This is my entry for the Camelot Remix fest, in which I remixed the beautiful artwork by AltoCello called "Alban Arthan and Alban Helfin." It's a stunning piece of work that I was beyond excited to work with and which has produced a piece that I'm very proud of. But it does require some background information.**

 **This combines the canon legend of Emrys and the Once and Future King, but it melds it with the celtic/druidic myth of the Oak King and the Holly King. The Oak King represents light/warmth/growth and the Holly King represents darkness/cold/death. The two of them do battle biannually. The Oak King wins at the winter Solstice and brings with him the longer warmer days of spring and summer, while the Holly King wins at the summer Solstice and brings back the shorter cooler days of autumn and winter. It's about balance and the cycle of life, and the symbolism of it all (even just the trees themselves) works really really well with Merlin and Arthur. I tweaked it a bit to make it more romantic, because _that_ fit really well with the epic poetic structure I used, sort of recalling the Shakespearean (and similar authors') tradition of playing around with the relationship dynamic of famous or infamous pairs.**

 **So here you go, please enjoy my vaguely homoerotic iambic pentameter ode.**

* * *

From beams of golden sunshine came a King

Whose noble voice did through the forest ring

And those upon whose ears his words did fall

Would bend their knees and offer him their all,

For with him came the light of longer days,

The woodland's children basking in their rays

As by their King in grassy cloak did sweep,

And in the Otherworld the Night did sleep.

And yet when blessèd Summer reached its height

Did Winter's chill come creeping through the night.

From whence the cold wind shook the branches down

Another rose to claim the leafy crown:

His lips of berry-red and skin moon-white

Did serve him well to dim the Oak King's light.

With hair as glossy-black as raven's wings

Came Emrys, King of all the darkest things.

The velvet night hung heavy 'round his throat

And leaves of thorny green comprised his coat,

But not a single prick did pierce his hide

For all this soon would by his rule abide.

Upon a grassy knoll the two did stand

When nigh the Summer Solstice was at hand.

The reigning King stood tall before his foe

While winds of Fate around them both did blow.

Though grimly he unsheathed his deadly blade,

His enemy no move toward him made.

Instead he lay his staff upon the ground

And laughter sweet did through the wood resound.

When first their lips in place of steel did meet,

Unto his foe did each admit defeat.

As Holly King tossed off his nightly shroud,

So too by Oak was conflict disavowed

And soon he had beneath the dark'ning skies

His golden King laid bare before his eyes.

Across the softest skin of tawny hue

His gentle hands did quest for pleasure true

And desp'rate cries poured forth from bitten lips

As lightning danced upon his fingertips.

With ev'ry tender touch and murmur low

The golden glow upon his skin did grow,

Til lastly did his lover come undone

And Emrys knew his battle had been won.

The Oak King trembled through his little death

And looked to Emrys on his final breath.

Said he, "I feel I've seen thy face before."

Sighed Emrys, "No, nor will you evermore,

For only now upon this solemn eve

Will you and I be granted this reprieve;

Not even my great power can abate

The never-ending spiral of your Fate.

So rest, my love, and know the time will come

When you will rise and I to you succumb."

The Holly King, he knelt upon that hill

Until his love did in his arms grow still

And then he bowed his tired head to weep

As Fate's chill wind around them both did sweep.

The Oak King's flesh, once firm and warmly gold,

Beneath the new night sky did soon grow cold

And sooner yet dissolvèd into dust

To soar and dance as still the wind did gust.

When time did come that Emrys glimpsed the dawn,

Each noble swirling mote at last had gone

And fin'lly did he boldly stand alone

To take the crown and mount the lonely throne.

From round his neck the cloak of night unfurled

To softly blanket all the weary world

And draw it close to hold against his breast

That all his subjects might be laid to rest.

Thus so the Holly King did hold his court:

The Summer waned and all the days grew short.

As Autumn came, so too did Summer's fruit

And harvest saw from flow'r to leaf to root.

Throughout the land the trees, which once had worn

Such verdant coats, by cold were slowly shorn

And creeping frost the sun's sweet warmth did take

As all the earth the Oak King did forsake.

The bite of Winter through the land did fly

As Emrys kept a close and watchful eye

On ev'ry beast and creature slumb'ring on

Til Holly King did see the Solstice dawn.

When they by Spring's first glowing morn were blest,

The brightest rays of sunlight coalesced

Into a form as true and strong and proud

As all the mountains stood fore'er unbowed

And to the sky he turned his beauteous face

As Nature did its truest King embrace.

The flow'rs did spread their petals and rejoice

To hear once more the Oak King's noble voice;

His glory forced the Winter snow to flee

As all his subjects took to bended knee.

This Emrys saw and knew his wait was o'er

For soon his humble reign would be no more.

Again they met each other face to face

Yet of their previous ardor was no trace

For this Oak King was freshly born anew;

No mem'ry held of trials they had been through.

But Emrys! O, poor Emrys did recall

Each second, ev'ry touch, both big and small,

Each lustful moan and ev'ry trembling breath,

Each splendid birth and each accursed death,

For Fate it had decreed when Time began

That always would he live to serve this man,

This wondrous King whose name would e'er be spoke

As long as Fate did hold them in its yoke.

The Oak King from its sheath did draw his blade,

Which glittered with the finest stones inlaid,

Then raised it up to hold in ready stance

And waited for occasion to advance.

So too the Holly King his staff did raise

And set the azure gem atop ablaze

With pow'r enough to easily dispatch

A hundred men, yet here he was no match.

A single heavy blow did meet its mark

And thus saw Emrys flung into the dark.

By Oak was Holly banished unto sleep

But Emrys through the Veil his watch did keep

For though his love condemned to yearly fight,

He could not bear to let him from his sight.

And so he kept his vigil from afar

As constant as the lonely northern star

That still he might protect his Fated ward

From any threat not felled beneath his sword.

As Spring did grow with warmth and light sublime

The Holly King did sit and bide his time

Through Summer til that too began to wane

And time had come for him to rise again.

Once more upon that knoll the two did stand

When nigh the Summer Solstice was at hand

And though they raised their weapons as they'd done

At Winter's death when last the Spring had won,

The Oak King threw his head back with a laugh

As did they set aside both sword and staff

For now he knew his foe to be his friend,

A watchful gaze meant only to defend.

Beneath each other's hands they both did writhe,

One broad and strong, the other tall and lithe,

And lips did wander 'cross their tender skin

As lightning built, as always, from within.

Its chill was hardly felt beneath the heat

Of pleasure creeping o'er them, ever sweet,

Until its glow was brighter than the sun

And Emrys knew his battle had been won.

Again he knelt and held his lover tight

As thus the setting sun turned day to night.

He brushed his lips across his love's pale face

As though his care could Fate's decree outpace,

But still he felt cruel Death's relentless tide

And knew another year he would abide

To rule in place of Albion's true lord

Until unto them all he was restored.

As Emrys tightly held his trembling hand,

The frigid winds of Fate swept o'er the land.

The Oak King spoke as still his heart did slow.

"I ask thee, villain: why dost thou hate me so?"

A slow, sad smile on Emrys' face did spread

And to his love—to _Arthur_ —so he said:

"A heart as true as yours must know the soul

Holds naught but love for that which makes it whole."


End file.
